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Current Global Women Prison Population

More than 733,000 women and girls are currently held in correctional facilities globally, according to current investigations. This statistic includes both awaiting trial prisoners and individuals already convicted and sentenced. Experts believe the actual total is significantly higher due to unavailable statistics from numerous countries.

Women consistently represent a minor proportion of correctional system demographics – usually between 2-9% on average. Currently, women and girls represent approximately 6.8% of the world's incarcerated individuals. Nonetheless, their figures are rising at a faster rate than incarcerated men.

Since the year 2000, the incarcerated females in prison has expanded by approximately 60 percent – nearly thrice the rise observed in the male prison population. The global female prison population increased by more than 100,000 individuals during the ten-year interval ending in 2020.

Key Factors Behind the Rise

Women's lawbreaking are often associated with economic hardship and usually serve as a method of sustenance to support their children and relatives.

Comprehensive research has established that regulations typically outlaw basic sustenance activities and that women are unfairly targeted because they are more commonly found among the poorest sectors of society. In many countries, laws criminalizing abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution disproportionately target women. The probability of getting a prison sentence is frequently connected with poverty and the failure to afford fines for petty offenses or to obtain release.

Nations with the Greatest Female Prison Populations

The United States has the greatest quantity of female prisoners with 174,607. China comes next with 145,000, plus an unknown number of women and girls in remand imprisonment and "bureaucratic confinement. Additional major sources include Brazil (50,441), Russia (39,153), Thailand (33,057), India (23,772), the Philippines (17,121), Turkey (16,581), Vietnam (15,152), Mexico (13,841) and Indonesia (13,044).

In England and Wales, there are 3,566 women in prison – representing 4% of the overall inmate count. Projections indicate these numbers are expected to rise to 4,200 by 2027. Across Europe, 94,472 women are currently imprisoned, while Australia reports 3,473 women in prison, amounting to approximately 8% of its overall inmate demographic.

States with Substantial Rises in Female Prison Populations

Although including normal population growth over the last quarter-century, the increase in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people continues to demonstrate a remarkable increase. El Salvador and Cambodia have experienced more than sixfold increases, while these countries have seen growth exceeding 500%.

Incarcerated Women Facing Execution

Current calculations indicate there are between 500 and 1,000 women on death row in at least 42 countries worldwide.

The countries that execute the most women are likewise the states that execute the most people in general, namely China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Based on latest reports, an undetermined count of women were executed in China, while two were executed in Egypt, 30 in Iran, one in Iraq, nine in Saudi Arabia and two in Yemen.

Incomplete statistics is available for states with most frequent capital punishment or for others such as North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. Nonetheless, analysis is available for 15 other countries with the most women on death row.

The principal violations for which women are receiving execution orders are murder and drug trafficking. Countries with mandatory death penalties for murder, or that do not recognize gender-based violence as lessening conditions, are more likely to have increased quantities of women on death row and more executions.

Furthermore, countries that severely criminalize drug trafficking, such as those in the Arabian Peninsula and Asian southeast, have a high proportion of women on death row.

Fitness of Prison for Women

Various professionals and advocates contend that prison is inappropriate penalty for a significant portion of women who break the law. Most are incarcerated for non-aggressive offenses; in England and Wales, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 fell into this classification. Women frequently experience a "repetitive cycle of brief incarceration periods – too brief to engage in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

As many as 80% of women in prison worldwide have an identifiable mental illness. In Europe, suicide rates for women in prison are nine times higher than for the wider community, according to the World Health Organization.

In response to growing statistics of imprisoned females and a lack of standards addressing their requirements, the United Nations Female Inmate Guidelines (known as the Bangkok Rules) were adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2010. These rules oblige states to establish non-imprisonment penalties and to provide women-specific consideration in prisons.

Children of Female Prisoners

An calculated 19,000 children live in prison with a parent, usually their mother, while a much larger quantity are separated from them. Approximately 1.45 million children worldwide have a imprisoned parent.

Apart from the clear division and associated suffering that a prison sentence can cause, it is not uncommon for a woman to be deprived of guardianship of her children after just a brief period in prison.

Many countries allow for babies and young children to stay in prison with their mothers up to a certain age. However, a childhood spent in prison can harm a young person both in health and mental state.